Wilder vs. Helenius and Plant vs.Dirrell Preview
Former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will be making his return to the ring in an attempt to get back on the championship track against dangerous power puncher Robert Helenius. The fight will take place Saturday October 15th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Wilder is trying to rebound from two straight KO losses to Tyson Fury after one of the greatest trilogies in boxing history. Wilder is 42-2-1 with 41 KO and prior to his first loss to Fury he was on an unbeaten streak unlike anything seen before in the heavyweight division.
The 36-year-old is ready to start a new chapter in his career and he believes fans will see the start of a new Wilder era on Saturday. “Even in my first reign, a lot of it was my way,” Wilder said. “But this right here is totally 100% Deontay Wilder’s way. I’m in a different position right now. And it just feels great to be in the position I’m in with no pressure. I don’t need the business anymore. When I do it, I do it for my own personal reasons. I’m doing it for the people and I’m doing it for some hardware, some titles.”
There have been questions how Wilder’s chin will hold up after his last fight with Fury which was an all-out war but it resulted in Wilder being KO’d badly. He has been training hard in preparation for the fight with Helenius. “We’ve been doing 30 or 40 rounds nonstop,” he said. “Only time I get water is during the break. I’ve just been doing things like that to challenge myself, doing things that have never been done before, or that you don’t really do in boxing.
“I wanted to see how my body adjusts to the long length of time without a break. When you can go a long time without taking a break, you’re in shape.”
Wilder knows he is in for a tough fight on Saturday. “I always want a good matchup,” he said. “Robert has been on a winning streak and he’s here. I’ve been hearing he’s supposed to be the mandatory for (Oleksandr) Usyk and however that’s laid out, but I know he’s coming with his A+++ game. They always do when they fight me.”
He went on to say, “With Robert, I think he’s gotten even more confident because he’s been sparring with me for many, many years,” Wilder continued. “We kind of know each other. At this point in camp, we’re trying to do some things that he’s never seen before. I’m sure he’s trying to do some things that I’ve never seen before. And the one thing I like about Robert is that he has a warrior’s heart, just like me.”
Wilder is one of the best power punchers in the history of the heavyweight division and he is likely to bring the same firepower in this fight. Will he engage in a back-and-forth battle or will he try to combine his power with his newfound training of boxing which we heard about before the last fight with Fury? The Alabama native has key wins in his career over Luis Ortiz (twice), Dominic Brezeale, Bermane Stiverne (twice), Gerald Washington, Chris Arreola, Artur Szpilka and Eric Molina.
Helenius is coming off the two biggest wins of his career with back-to-back TKO’s of prospect Adam Kownacki, the last being in October of 2021. While he does have key victories over Derek Chisora, Samuel Peter and Lamon Brewster; the wins over Kownacki have carried so much more meaning for Helenius because they were true upsets which shocked the boxing world.
The Swedish fighter has worked hard to prepare for this fight with Wilder. “I’ve gone back to my roots,” said Helenius.
He continued, “I’m channeling the Viking spirit. I’ve made such a commitment to eating properly over the last couple of years and I’m beginning to see a massive difference. I’ve cut out all carbs and focused on eating meats and eggs, I guess you could say Rocky style. It seems to suit my body, which would make sense as that’s what all my ancestors would have eaten.”
The 38-year-old went on to say, “It’s been a tough road for me in the sport. I have had plenty of ups and downs over 25 years, amateur and pro, but this fight gives me the opportunity to move a step closer to what I’ve always dreamed of, fighting for a heavyweight world title. We’re making sure that everything is right for this fight. I can’t let an opportunity like this pass with giving 100 percent.”
A win by Helenius would give him three straight upsets but he has not fought anyone with the power that Wilder possesses. If he can avoid the power long enough to take the fight to the deeper rounds, he could surprise the former champion and once again shock the world.
The co-main event of the evening will be a dynamic super middleweight fight between former champions Caleb Plant and Anthony Dirrell. The fight will be a title eliminator for the WBC super-middleweight belt.
Plant is trying to rebound from an 11th round TKO loss to Canelo Alvarez last November where he lost the IBF title. While it was the first defeat of his career Plant showed tremendous heart against Alvarez as many did not give him any chance of making it out of the early rounds.
Dirrell has made this fight personal and has much to say about Plant, but the Tennessee native is not worried about the trash-talk. “I definitely feel there’s a lot of jealousy there,” Plant said. “He can get mad, he can hate me and feel however he wants. He’s not a bully. He likes to act like a bully but sells a lot of wolf tickets.”
“I don’t care give a fuck about where he’s from or what he says. He and his team have been barking, they’ve been doing that for the last seven years and still not where they want to be. That don’t mean nothing to me.”
Dirrell is a two-time WBC super-middleweight champion and is coming off a fourth round KO of Marcos Hernandez last November. While he is a two-time champion, he has never successfully defended the belt. He sees this fight as a chance to prove Plant and everyone else doubting him they are wrong.
In response to Plant saying he is not on his level Dirrell said, “That’s his opinion. That’s what he thinks. When we get in there, it’s a whole different story. I think he’ll be on his bicycle as always. He only can fight when somebody is just standing there coming towards him or letting him do what he wants, but I’m not going to do that. I’m going to go in there and do what I need to do, be the dog.”
Dirrell will bring a high level of animosity into the fight. “He's just one of those guys that I wanna really fuck-- up,” said Dirrell. “That’s the task at hand, just getting in there and fuck him up.”
Dirrell has key wins in his career over Sakio Bika, Marco Antonio Rubio and Caleb Truax. He will turn 38 years old the day before the fight so time will soon no longer be on his side. With a win over Plant, he can prove he still belongs at the top at super-middleweight but a loss could likely put an end to his title hopes.
The main card can be seen on FOX PPV.
